Carolina Rose

Mom (4)

Third Pov

"Are you going to go to the family meeting?" Lina asked Five, the two sitting peacefully together in the old van as they kept an eye out for a patient that was missing an eye.

"I would, but this is more important. Thanks for the coffee and doughnut, by the way." Five replied, sipping his black coffee.

"No problem, love."

"And... um, I'm sorry for leaving you. In the OR. All alone. I should've left a note or something- I-"

"Five."

"Y- Yeah?"

"It's all right. I know that stopping the apocalypse is important. And I'm skilled enough to know where you would've gone. Although, a note would've been nice." Lina spoke, taking a bite of her plain chocolate doughnut.

"Whoops, I have to get going, love. I'm going to miss the family meeting at this rate." Lina spoke, packing up to get out of the old van.

"But beautiful, I haven't seen you all day. Stay with me a little longer?" Five requested, stopping Lina.

Lina placed a chaste kiss on Five's lips, before pulling away.

"I would, but if I stay any longer, I'm quite sure that we won't be able to focus on the job at hand," Lina commented, giving Five a sly, all-knowing smirk.

"I'll see you at home, handsome." She finished, leaving Five with a blush on his cheeks and the urge to throw everything away and just take Lina to the nearest hotel.

~~~ At the Umbrella Academy ~~~

Klaus, Allison, Diego, Vanya, Luthor, and Lina all stood in front of the very old tv that was showing the night of Sir Hargreeves' death. Luthor seemed to be stuck with the idea that their Mom, Grace was hiding something regarding Sir Hargreeves' death while Lina was trying very hard to keep herself awake.

"Ro-ro, are you all right?" Allison questioned, noticing the young teenager nod off.

"I'm fine. Just having a *yawn* sugar crash." Lina answered, waving the siblings' worries away.

When Lina consumed sugar, she'd have a headache for a little while; which would soon be replaced by fatigue and drowsiness. Once the fatigue passed, an even worse headache dawned on her. Despite the repercussions, Lina loved sweets.

"Do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?" Vanya asked.

"You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya. Maybe you don't know Grace anymore," Luthor answered.

"All in all, Grace is a robot. She's made to follow orders and how she's programmed. If for some reason, she was programmed to not administer first aid, or-" Lina started, before being cut off.

"Why would anyone do that?" Diego questioned, glaring at the short girl lying down on the couch.

"Who knows? Maybe it was Gramps that made the order. No one knew what the hell went on in his mind." Lina stated, shrugging.

"...If he was poisoned, it should've shown on the coroner's report." Diego commented, sticking with his idea of how Sir Hargreeves' death was suicide- or natural death.

"Well, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes," Luthor argued, gesturing to the recording.

After drinking the tea that Grace had provided him, Sir Hargreeves was having what obviously was a heart attack. He doubled over, fell onto his bed, and continued to spasm with a pained look on his face. Meanwhile, Grace just turned around and left the room without even throwing a second glance.

"Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision," Diego shot back.

"No, no, wait, guys." Vanya intervened, stopping the two males from fighting.

"I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book, but... well, he said that Mom was designed to be a caretaker and a protector."

"Protector? What do you mean?" Allison asked, confused.

Klaus sat on the couch that Lina was sleeping on, putting her legs on his lap to keep her comfortable. He just watched the scene unravel before his very eyes, wishing that he could have some popcorn.

"I mean, Mom was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in danger," Vanya explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait. If her hardware is degrading-" Luthor started.

"You mean software." Lina butted in.

"Hardware is the physical parts of a computer. In Grace's case, it would be her body. Software is the programming and all the code that tell her what to do." Lina explained, making Luthor roll his eyes.

"Whatever. If her software is degrading, then we need to turn her off."

"She's not just a vacuum cleaner that you can throw in a closet!! She feels things, I've seen it!!" Diego argued angrily, knife in his hand.

"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die," Luthor argued back.

"I'm with Luthor." Allison chimed in.

~~~ /// ~~~ \\\ ~~~

Surprise, surprise.

2.4 pages, 800 words